All things animal in Southern California and beyond

A note about our commenting system

June 22, 2011 | 3:27
pm

Hi, readers! You'll notice that, beginning Wednesday, our commenting system is a bit different than you may be used to if you're a regular Unleashed reader.

Along with most of our sibling blogs here at The Times, we've made the switch to Facebook's commenting system. For most of you, we think this will be good news: It means that your comments will appear on the blog as soon as you post them, rather than waiting for a moderator's approval. Another bonus: The new system allows for comment "threading," meaning you can respond directly to another commenter.

One thing some of you may see as a downside: You do have to have a Facebook account in order to comment. These are free and easy to set up, and you can choose to share very little information about yourself if privacy issues are a big concern for you. When you post a comment using the new system, you'll have the option to either have your comment appear only on the blog or on both the blog and your own Facebook wall. To ensure that it doesn't show up on your personal wall, just uncheck the box that says "Post to Facebook."

Comments written before the switch are viewable by clicking "Archives" in the comment section at the bottom of each post.

One last thing: The fact that our system has changed doesn't mean our standards for commenting have. We still ask that you be respectful of other readers (even if you disagree with their points of view) and refrain from the use of profanity and vulgarity.